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Then ten minutes.
Then a half hour.
I pace back and forth on the branch, and Elva flutters down beside me. She opens one of her enormous wings, wraps it around me, and then forcefully pecks me on my neck.
I let out an annoyed squawk.
I could swear she is laughing… or at least smiling.
She launches off of the branch, and I trail close behind her. When we reach the gate, I brace myself for the uncomfortable ward I had passed through before. I’m surprised to find it down.
It’s almost…as if they are expecting this.
Dread is swimming in my stomach, constantly ramming against the stinky meat I ate for dinner. We reach the front doors of the castle. They are large, intricately sculpted ice panels melded together with magic to allow us entrance inside.
Elva shifts back, and I follow suit. I’ve never been to this part of the castle.
I gawk at the grandeur. It seemed like something that was frozen in time from a thousand years ago. Modern designers have yet to touch the carved wooden accents, elaborate crystal chandeliers, or silver trim in the last century.
This will all belong to Elva soon. I grimaced. This will be our home. It feels exactly how it looks:cold.
Elva doesn’t speak or look at me, and I can see from her expression she is nervous. Tense. She leads me through two more corridors until we spot the rebels. Each one has a grim look painted across their rugged face. It doesn’t bode well for me.
I am just trying to keep my breathing even and remember what Elva has told me. My difference is my strength.
Elva looks each one in the eyes and says, “Was that as easy as it looked?”
They all nod.
“Something is wrong,” Calitha hisses. “This place was all but abandoned when we got here… this mission might be a bust if we can’t find the Queen.”
Elva bites her lip. “No, she’s still here. I’m sure of it. There’s no way she abandoned the ship when she’s the captain of the damn cruise line. You know where my father is being kept?”
Calitha nods.
“Lead the way.”
I feel more like a bystander than ever as she takes us into a grand library. Calitha stabs a painting of someone who looks like they are very,veryself-important and tears the tapestry. Behind it is a lever.
I roll my eyes.
A godsdamn lever.
The humor is lost on me when she pulls it and reveals a tunnel.
“One of many secret passageways hidden throughout the castle. They were used for safe houses and escapes.”
I nod.
The hall is considerably colder than any other part of the castle, and I try to avoid cringing at its frosty bite as we walk through it. My heart is racing, unsure of what will await us on the other side of this hall.
Runes mark the wall, and I can only assume their deep blackness comes from charcoal. When we reach the end of the hallway, my stomach twists, and bile rises in my throat.
A chamber, very similar to the cell we had been placed in, stands before us. Except along one of the four windowless walls is a very lush bed. Laying on that bed, asleep, is another black Winter Fae with a grey beard and a bald head.
Next to him, with her legs casually crossed over each other while she reads a leather-bound book, is the Queen of the Winter Court.
Chapter48
